Hard Services
Reactive Maintenance
When something fails, the first job is making it safe and the second is putting it right. We do both, any hour of the day, and we finish the job rather than handing you a list of other people to call.
Request a quoteIn short
Airwaves Facilities Management takes reactive maintenance call-outs 24 hours a day across the UK, aiming to respond within four hours. We make safe, repair and make good under one contract. When a glazing unit failed at Levi’s in Birmingham’s Bullring, we deployed that Sunday evening.
Information on what we do
What we fix when something goes wrong
Emergency make-safe, the permanent repair, and the making good afterwards.
Emergency Make-Safe
Failed glazing, storm damage, flooding, security breaches. The first job is removing the risk to your staff, your customers and the public. The repair comes second.
Doors, Locks & Access Control
Hinges, frames and alignment, lock replacement, steel security doors, and door entry systems. At The Post Box in Birmingham we fitted an Intratone system programmed to integrate with the existing intercom across the whole development.
Flood & Water Damage Response
Drainage clearance, CCTV drain surveys, drying programmes and full internal renovation. We have run both ends of this: the emergency crew at Millbrook, and the five-week rebuild at Square on the Square.
Electrical Works
Installation and repair of electrical systems, fixtures and appliances to specification and safety standards, under our NAPIT registration for installations covered by BS 7671.
Fabric Repairs & Making Good
Plasterboard, skirting, architrave, doors, joinery and decorating, so the repair does not stop at "watertight" and leave you to find a decorator.
Hardscape & Grounds
Pathways, patios and hard surfaces, pressure washing, vegetation clearance and groundworks. This is the outdoor half of a reactive call that most building contractors hand off.
What's included
What happens when you call
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You call, any hour
Ring us on 0330 118 00 65. The phone is answered out of hours, not diverted to an answerphone. You can email info@airwavesfm.co.uk instead if it is easier, and photographs always help.
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We aim to respond within four hours
That is the target we work to, day or night. What "respond" means depends on what has happened: sometimes it is an operative on site, sometimes it is the call that tells you what we are doing and when.
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We make safe first
Risk before repair. At Levi’s that meant an 8m aluminium scaffold tower and protective laminate film across the failed glazing unit on the Sunday night, with the full removal scheduled as a separate, planned return visit.
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We scope the actual problem, not the symptom
At Millbrook, clearing the backed-up drainage chambers was the obvious job. A CCTV survey of the adjacent drains found the collapsed drain that was causing it.
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We repair and make good
Right through to decorating, so you deal with one contractor. Square on the Square went from strip-out, through a three-week drying programme, to a finished and redecorated apartment.
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You get told what else we found
Our teams carry tablets and report from site. Our client OBMS notes in their review that we go "above and beyond in reporting other site issues", and quote for them if wanted.
Included as standard
- Call-outs accepted 24 hours a day, with a four-hour target response
- One team and one point of contact, whoever is on site
- Make safe before repair, as a distinct first step
- Before-and-after photography
- Risk assessments and method statements for work in occupied buildings
- Making good, not just the repair
- Waste removal and site clean on completion
Proof of work
Reactive Maintenance jobs we have done
Levi’s, Bullring: Glazing Removal
Glazing removal at Levi’s store, Bullring Birmingham
Read the full job →
Millbrook: Flood Mitigation Works
Repairs to collapsed culvert & drainage repairs
Read the full job →
The Post Box: Security Enhancements
Security doors, perimeter railings and gates installed at a city centre high-rise residential scheme
Read the full job →As a Property Manager, you always need to rely on good contractors. Airwaves Facilities Management provide all the services I need to manage my buildings. They are a pleasure to work with!
Why choose us
Why us for reactive maintenance?
The measure of a reactive contractor is what happens at 2am on a Sunday, not what their brochure says.
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Four-hour target response, around the clock
That is what we work to, day or night, and we usually beat it. When a shop-front glazing unit failed at Levi’s in the Bullring, we turned out that Sunday evening, made it safe, and the store was trading again the following day.
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A person answers the phone, not an answerphone
Call at 2am on a Sunday and someone picks up. That is a surprisingly rare thing in facilities management, and it is the difference between a problem being dealt with and a problem waiting until Monday.
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One team, whoever is on site
Every trade under one contract and one point of contact, so there is no gap between who you appointed and who arrives, and nobody turns up you have not been told about.
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Plant, not improvisation
Removing that unit took a BG 250 articulated spider crane with a 635kg vacuum lifter, an 8m scaffold tower and a scissor lift to isolate the signage, inside a built exclusion zone.
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We find the cause, not the symptom
At Millbrook we cleared the drainage chambers, then ran a CCTV survey that found a collapsed drain. We excavated a 2500 x 3000mm area, repaired it, and made good with two tonnes of type 1 MOT, new tarmac, sealed.
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We finish the job, including the decorating
Square on the Square ran five weeks from flood to finished: strip-out, drying programme, certificate of dryness, then plasterboard, doors, a rebuilt wardrobe, new herringbone floor and redecoration.
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Over 50 people, since 2017
Airwaves has been trading since March 2017 and the team is now more than fifty strong. Big enough to cover a national portfolio, small enough that you are not passed between account managers.
Gallery
Take a look at some pictures of our work.
Before you enquire
Reactive Maintenance: your questions answered
Are you available out of hours?
Yes, and the phone is answered rather than diverted. Call 0330 118 00 65 at any hour, including weekends, or email info@airwavesfm.co.uk if you would rather send photographs. When a glazing unit failed at Levi’s in the Bullring, we deployed that Sunday evening to make the shopfront safe, and the store traded the following morning.
How quickly will you respond?
We aim to respond within four hours, day or night, and in practice we are usually quicker. What responding looks like depends on the job. A failed shopfront on a Sunday night gets an operative; a dripping tap gets the call that tells you when we are coming. Either way you hear from us inside four hours rather than wondering.
Is that four hours guaranteed in writing?
It is the target we work to rather than a contractual SLA, and we would rather be straight about the difference. Call-out sits alongside your planned work as an additional service rather than inside it. If you need a response time written into a contract, say so and we will scope it properly.
Do you just make it safe, or do you fix it properly?
Both, as separate steps. Making safe removes the immediate risk. At Levi’s that was laminate film and a scaffold tower on the night. The permanent repair is then planned properly rather than rushed at midnight.
Will I need another contractor to make good afterwards?
No. Fabric repairs and decorating sit under the same contract, so a flood repair runs through to a redecorated room under one contract. Square on the Square went from strip-out to finished apartment in five weeks.
Can you work in occupied residential blocks?
Yes. We work inside occupied retirement properties for FirstPort under specific risk assessments and method statements, with twice-daily communication. The Post Box was a live city-centre high-rise while we installed security doors and railings.
What areas do you cover?
The whole UK. Our documented reactive jobs span Birmingham, Uttoxeter and Oxford, and we travel well beyond them.
Where we cover
Our service area
We respond to reactive and emergency call-outs across the UK, from our base at Berkswell, CV7 7SL. Wherever your sites are we can get to them, and if you have property in more than one region, one contract covers all of it.
Brands that trust us
Ready to talk facilities management?
Get in touch with our team for a total FM solution tailored to your requirements.